Losing Grip
by PSawyerLove
Summary: Nathan and Brooke are siblings living under Dan's hard hand. Nathan and his neglected girlfriend, Peyton, struggle to help each other but only end up hurting worse. Who can help them when all else fails? Starts as Nathan/Peyton, WILL become Leyton and Naley. Warning: abuse and dark subject matter later on.
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

_**Summary: Nathan and Brooke are siblings living under Dan's hard hand. Nathan and his neglected girlfriend, Peyton, struggle to help each other but only end up hurting worse. Who can help them when all else fails?  
Warning: abuse and dark subject matter later on.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own any recognizable characters and settings from One Tree Hill.**_

Chapter 1: Prologue

Nathan slunk up the staircase of the enormous house and crept down the hall, hoping his far too intuitive little sister of a year wouldn't hear him come home late. He'd been lucky this time: he'd managed to sneak in without his father catching him, and if he could avoid Brooke, then he'd be luckier than ever. Tonight, however, Nathan almost wished his father would find him coming home past curfew and punish him. He felt like he deserved it after what he'd just done that night, the reason he'd been out past curfew.  
Brooke heard her brother come in, but she remained still in her large bed. She stared at the ceiling wide awake as her brother clumsily snuck into his adjacent room and closed the creaking door as quietly as he could. She would have got up and gone to him as she normally did when he came home from Peyton's so she could get the latest scoop of her brother and best friend's relationship, but she stayed still that night. She didn't want to wake her father, who would surely be livid that his son had broken one of his stone-hard rules once again. He'd warned Nathan that he'd have it coming to him next time he was late, and she was desperate to keep her brother safe.  
Dan Scott was a hard man, turned steely since his wife left him for a lawyer in some western state. He never laid an unkind hand on his precious daughter but once, and his basketball prodigy of a son bore the brunt of his frustration. Any mistake of Nathan's was a reason for Dan to release some of his pent up anger at the world. He didn't hit Nathan all the time, but when he did, it was not pretty.  
Most of the time, Nathan broke rules so that he could be with his beautiful girlfriend Peyton Sawyer. On the outside, Nathan and Peyton were the school's perfect power couple: both gorgeous, popular, and athletic; Nathan the handsome star basketball player and Peyton the radiant co-captain of the cheer squad. On the inside, Nathan and Peyton were both anything but perfect. Like Nathan, Peyton struggled with daddy issues. After her mother had died when she was eight, her father had become an alcoholic, and often was too intoxicated to care for the fragile little girl. Eventually, he got his shit together and got a job that would support what was left of his family and went out to sea, leaving Peyton alone in that big, empty house. He loved his daughter more than anything, but he couldn't help but see her mother's influence in her, and it was too hard for him. Peyton also had issues with anxiety and abandonment, and from time to time she would have a mental breakdown, leaving Nathan and Brooke to pick up the pieces. Nathan and Peyton were each other's first real relationship, he'd been the one to take her virginity, and due to their damaged pasts and present, they were attached to each other. Together, the two fractured teens dealt with their issues and leaned on each other for support, but sometimes, like that night, it was all just too much for the both of them.  
Brooke waited until early the next morning, Saturday when Dan was off at his car dealership, to invade her brother's privacy. "Nate wake up!" She chirped, energized from the joy of a non-confrontational couple of days, and leaped onto his bed.  
"Go away, Brooke." He groaned, hitting her with a pillow.  
"Come on," she whined, "tell me how my best girl is doing!"  
"I don't want to talk about her." Nathan sighed, his throat tightening and tears welling in his eyes.  
Brooke noticed and was instantly concerned, she hardly ever saw her strong brother, her rock, cry, even when things got bad with Dan. Peyton was one of the only people he cried for, and that was normally when something bad was going on with her. "Nathan, what's wrong?" She gently laid a hand on his arm as he sat up and hung his head in his hands as he shook it.  
"Did she break up with you?"  
He shook his head no.  
"Did you break up with her?"  
He shook his head no.  
"Well what happened?"  
He didn't respond.  
"Fine, I'll go ask her myself." Brooke made to stand, but Nathan caught her arm.  
"No Brooke, we're fine! It's fine, okay?!" He feigned a smile but she saw right through it. Beneath it he looked panicked.  
"Sure you are." She spat sarcastically and spun on her heel, gliding from the room and down the stairs. Nathan made no other move to stop her, and collapsed onto the pillows, staring wide eyed at the oscillating ceiling fan, wondering how last night had become so bad.  
Brooke drove the two minutes to her best friend's house and marched right up to the front door, surprised to find it locked: It was never locked. She sent a text to her friend to let her know she was using the spare key in the back and let herself in to the Sawyer household. She could hear little sobs as she approached the staircase, and bolted the rest of the way to her best friend's bedroom as her heart tightened in her chest. She hated when her P. Sawyer was hurting.  
Brooke found Peyton curled up in a fetal position in the middle of her bed, facing away from the door and still in yesterday's clothes. "Peyton? Honey?" Brooke approached the girl with caution, knowing how scary she could be when she was upset. She saw her instantly stiffen and yank a pillow over her head.  
"Go away, Brooke. Please." The thin blonde was trying to shut her out, but Brooke knew every trick in the book. She just had to be persistent.  
"P. Sawyer, you know I'm not leaving. Now what has you and my brother all torn up?" She moved around to the side of the bed that Peyton was facing and laid a gentle hand on her friend's tiny shoulder. Brooke observed that she was looking thin again, probably not eating, and she wondered why.  
"Brooke-" Peyton whimpered as Brooke started to tear away the pillow. She threw her hands up to cover her face and tried to roll away from Brooke, but she was too quick.  
"P. Look at me!" Brooke turned Peyton and grasped her delicate wrists in her warm hands. "It's alright, you know you can trust me." Brooke soothed as she began to slowly pry Peyton's hands from her face. She gasped when she saw what the skinny blonde had been hiding. "Oh no."

 _ **A/N: Thank you for reading! Please review and let me know if this story is worth continuing! It WILL be Leyton and Naley at the end, I promise.**_


	2. Chapter 2: The Beginning

Chapter 2

"He hit you" Brooke whispered, running her thumb over her best friend's cheek.

"Brooke-"

"No. No no no!" She wailed, collapsing onto Peyton's bed beside her in shock. "This can't be happening!" She couldn't look at Peyton, the purple bruise surrounding her swollen eye reminded her of the screwed up family she belonged to, and warned that it was only getting worse.

"Brooke, it's okay. He didn't mean it!" Peyton cried, sitting up and placing a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder, trying to calm her even though she herself was still shaken up. "He said he was sorry."

"Don't give me that, Peyton! You know they're always sorry. Dan always apologizes but he never stops. Nathan cannot turn into Dan!"

"He's not, okay? It was my fault, I provoked him."

The desperate sound in Peyton's voice was way too familiar to Brooke, and she felt overwhelming dread from hearing that in her best friend. She could hear the change in her and she didn't want this for Peyton. She wouldn't wish this on anyone. "Don't you ever say that again, Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer!" Brooke snapped, turning sharply to finally meet Peyton's own crippled gaze. "He will never have a good enough reason to hurt you, you hear me?"

Peyton cowered from the fiery brunette's anger and nodded weakly, feeling as though she'd been yelled at enough in the last 24 hours as it was.

*flashback*

"Miss Sawyer, can I see you a moment?" It was the sharp tone of her algebra with trigonometry teacher Mr. Barker.

"Yes?" She addressed respectfully, approaching his desk.

"It's clear that you do not want to graduate." He snapped, slamming last week's test in front of her, a big fat "F" written larger than necessary with an obnoxious circle around it.

"W-what?"

"If you fail my class, you'll have to retake it and pass, or face not graduating, which you know very well. You're clearly giving no effort whatsoever to pass."

She'd never been talked to by a teacher like that before, she'd never failed a class, and she was in a state of shock. "Sir, I'm sorry… I don't understand the material." She trailed off, trying to think of what she'd done other than skipping class and not doing her homework to get on his bad side. She'd always been very respectful and courteous when she did show up to class. This anger toward her didn't seem necessary, and she felt hot tears of embarrassment and hurt well in her eyes.

"Then get a tutor and get your ass into gear, Miss Sawyer. You are dismissed."

She walked down the hallways and sat through her last few classes only half there. Her mind was on that damned trig course that was the bane of her existence, and she just couldn't see how she'd be able to pull up to a passing "D" at this point, not after her teacher had blatantly called her out and shown how much he truly disliked her. How did he expect yelling at her to fix the problem?

She ended up getting called out by two more of her teachers in front of the whole class for not paying attention, and she was close to tears by the time the final bell rung and dismissed her to cheerleading. At their mid-practice water break, her cheer coach pulled her aside to grill her for being distracted:

"You're one of the captains, Peyton. You're supposed to set an example for the other girls and you are less than spectacular today. I also got a little email from Mr. Barker about your math grade. Fix it."

"I'm sorry, Coach Chelsea." She'd been too drained to argue. What was this, Rag on Peyton Day?

"Sorry doesn't cut it, sweetheart." Her coach snipped, sharper than was necessary. "Clean it up, or lose your co-captain status."

The rest of cheer practice was spent going above her usual effort despite her feeling completely worthless and unwanted, and by the end she could barely contain her raging emotions. All she wanted to do was go home and curl up under her blankets to cry for a few hours with her boyfriend to comfort her.

After cheer practice, she waited for Nathan, who's sour mood rivaled her's when he met her by his car, and her tiny trickle of hope for a better evening was killed in an instant.

"Come on let's go." He said in a hard tone, throwing his bag into her lap as they got in.

"What's your problem?" She'd snapped, tossing the bag back at him.

"Whitey's on my ass about the game and I'm failing math again. I can't play if I'm failing. What's your problem?!" He retaliated, and their night had only gotten progressively worse as it wore on with constant shouting contests and insults. She'd had a day full of nothing but getting yelled at, and what she hadn't known at the time was that it would end even worse than it had been.

*end flashback*

Brooke noticed Peyton's obvious aversion to her yelling and softened her tone. Nathan sometimes showed these same signs after an 'argument' with Dan. "I'm sorry, Peyton. Come on, you need to get some ice on that eye." She helped the distraught, skinny blonde to her feet and guided her down the stairs to the kitchen.

"I'm a bad girlfriend." Peyton sighed in a small voice as she settled into one of the wooden kitchen chairs.

"Why do you say that?" Brooke busied herself preparing an ice pack for Peyton's eye and sandwiches for them both to eat. She knew Peyton would sometimes not eat when she was stressed, and she felt like it was her responsibility to make sure she was okay.

"Because I'm supposed to listen to him and help him when he needs my support, but I was stressed out and I was nothing but a bitch to him yesterday." The tears started to fall again, and she wiped at them with frustration, gasping when she pressed too hard on her black eye.

"Here." Brooke handed her the ice pack, a sympathetic look on her face as she sat down at the table with their food. She'd done this same routine so many times with Nathan, but it felt foreign doing it for her best friend. "Peyton, you're an amazing girlfriend and he loves you so much, okay? It's not fair to put that much pressure on yourself. Everyone has bad days."

"Every day is a bad day!" She wailed, throwing her head back dramatically.

"Bitch, you need to stop!" Brooke sighed in exasperation. "That's not true and you know it! You and Nathan are the most negative people I know, I swear…" she shook her head in disbelief and took a huge bite of her sandwich. "Eat please, I don't need you wasting away on me." Brooke watched with concern as Peyton just nibbled and picked the bread apart. "Why aren't you eating?" She reached across the table and placed her hand on Peyton arm to stop her sandwich destruction.

"I don't know I'm just really stressed out and I don't feel that great." Tears reddened the blonde's vibrant sylvan eyes, bringing the colors out so that they were a shocking, multi-shade green, and she continued explaining as she let the tears fall freely. "Ever since that Lucas kid joined the team last week that's all Nathan has been thinking about and he's been so, I don't know, off! And now I'm failing math, and Mr. Barker and Coach Chelsea were both on my case yesterday. I feel like everything is spinning out of control and I don't know what to do!" She spread her tense hands out in the table and stared down at the aging wood, tears constantly blurring her vision.

"Oh Peyton. I'm sorry." Brooke moved around the table and enveloped her friend in her warm arms. She knew how Peyton handled pressure and that she would need support, especially after last night. "I'm here for you, okay? Nathan has been ranting about Lucas all week, I'm sure he'll get over it soon. It's hard for him to know that he's his half brother, he feels threatened."

"You know he's your half brother too." Peyton sighed, pulling away from her best friend and meeting her gaze seriously.

Brooke swallowed thickly and spoke cautiously, "Yes. I'm aware of that fact, but that doesn't mean I have to like it."

"What do you two have against him anyway? It's not like Dan cheated on your mom for his, it was the other way around." Peyton was so fed up with this whole Lucas Scott issue, and she couldn't see the logic in hating him.

If looks could kill, the glare Brooke gave her would've dropped her dead right then. "Nathan hates him because Dan keeps track of him. Dan doesn't know Nathan knows, but he cares about Lucas and Nathan feels like he has to compete with him. I hate him because he makes my brother feel that way. I know it's not his fault, but I just can't ignore it."

Peyton sighed, shaking her head in disbelief as she began to pick at her sandwich once more, this time taking a few bites. "I just think he deserves a chance."

"And what if he's better than Nathan, huh? Do you want to live with Nathan's attitude if that happens?"

Neither of them spoke or even made eye contact for a little while after that. They both knew Brooke was right: Nathan would be a nightmare if Lucas was better than him. What Brooke wasn't telling Peyton was that Lucas Scott had a lasting crush on the gorgeous blonde since eighth grade, and it was obvious to everyone except Peyton. She had always been oblivious to guys wanting her, though, so it was no surprise to Brooke and Nathan that she never realized how Lucas was damn near infatuated with her. To Nathan, however, that was just one more reason to hate his half-brother.

Peyton couldn't keep her mind off Nathan, wondering if he was okay, if he was really sorry. She also thought of how he'd told her he was failing math too. Maybe they could get a tutor together? She shook her head, thinking of Nathan of all people in tutoring. He'd never go for it unless his life depended on it. She wanted to see him and talk to him; she was attached to him and she missed him, but she wasn't sure where they stood after last night, and her heart constricted at the thought of more arguing. She hung her head in her hands and willed herself not to cry again. She'd had enough crying over the past twenty-four hours, and she knew she had to pull herself together if she wanted to try and convince Nathan that she was okay and that she forgave him: he was always so hard on himself, and he'd already been way past beating himself up over hurting her by the time he'd left last night, she couldn't imagine how he was feeling now.

She got up from the table and put her ice pack back in the freezer and put the remaining half of the sandwich in the fridge. Brooke watched her in confusion as she moved about the kitchen before heading upstairs where Brooke followed her. "Peyton, what are you doing?" She asked in a small, concerned voice.

"I'm going to see him, Brooke. Because if I don't you and I both know he'll just beat himself up over this until I do." She sounded tight and bitter as she dug through her drawers for sweatpants and a big t-shirt, both belonging to Nathan, which she slipped on and started toward the door as she pulled her hair into a messy bun. "Are you just gonna stand there or are you gonna drive me?"

Brooke nodded and followed Peyton out the door as she wrung her hands around the lanyard that held her keys. She knew full well that Nathan would be beating himself up over this, but she just wasn't sure if it was too soon to try to console him. "I don't know how he's gonna react to seeing you, P. He wasn't in a good mood this morning at all."

"He's my boyfriend. He's gonna have to suck it up and let me talk." She spat fire as she slid into the passenger side of Brooke's sky blue VW Beetle.

Brooke didn't argue, knowing Peyton was a force to be reckoned with when she was in this kind of mood, and started the engine. They rode in silence, Brooke could almost feel the frustration and worry radiating off of her best friend. She knew Peyton's emotions were always all over the place, and that she cared almost too much for others that she would often ignore her own feelings. This was one of those times: Peyton was more worried about the guilt Nathan was feeling rather than the pain he'd caused her. Her selfless tendencies often worried Brooke, especially now. Would she just let Nathan hit her again? Had he maybe hit her before? What if this wasn't the first time? No, she would've noticed, after all it was her brother and best friend.

 ** _Thank you for reading! I have a clear plot for this story, and I'm very excited to write the rest. I'll try to make chapters longer in the future. I hope you all enjoy this one, please let me know what you think! I've been having trouble with my PM so responding to reviews is iffy right now, but I do try! Every review is appreciated!_**

 ** _~ PSawyerLove_**


	3. Chapter 3: Don't Be Afraid

The Scott residence mansion loomed over the tiny VW Beetle as the two best friends pulled into the drive. Peyton had been trying desperately the whole ride there to come up with the words to explain to Nathan that she forgave him, but that what he had done was not okay. She didn't know how to express her feelings because she'd never felt this way before. Some of emotions she felt toward him now were ones she'd never thought she'd have to feel: anger that he'd hurt her, fear that he would hurt her again, sorrow because she knew his worst fear was becoming like his father, regret and guilt because she felt like she'd caused this, and general sadness because she had never expected nor wanted this to happen.

Neither girl spoke a word as they reluctantly opened their doors and stepped onto the hot September pavement. Brooke led them to the front door and into the large, open foyer. "Alright, P. Sawyer. You sure about this?" She gently grasped the tops of her best friend's arms and met her determined gaze.

"Absolutely." Peyton took the lead as they continued through the living room where they were met by Dan Scott who was sat on the couch with his legs propped up on the coffee table and his arms crossed over his chest, looking as though he had been expecting them. A jolt of fear ran through Peyton and nearly made her jump when he cleared his throat. He'd never been anything but kind to her but she was terrified of him because of what she knew he was capable of, and she cowered slightly when his booming voice carried across the room.

"Good afternoon, girls. Peyton, what happened to your eye?"

"What are you doing home?" Brooke interjected, her voice almost accusing.

"I'm on my lunch break. Peyton?" He prompted the still silent teen.

She cringed and thought up a bullshit yet believable story in a split second to cover Nathan's ass. "I got hit by my flyer in a basket toss at practice yesterday. I'm fine, it happens." Her words were followed by a long silence that seemed almost deafening in the circumstances as her and Dan stared each other down.

"Okay. I hope it gets better. Nathan is up in his room, I don't even know if he's gotten up yet. Could you send him down in a bit? I need a word with him." Dan eventually spoke with an ominous sound in his tone that made a shiver run down Peyton's spine, and Brooke slump in disappointment. She knew what that tone meant.

"Yessir, thank you." Peyton mumbled as she escaped up to the stairs with Brooke trailing close behind her.

The girls ran up to the hallway outside Nathan's room and both exchanged a look of nervousness before opening the door to the dark, messy room. Nathan was a lump curled up in the center of his bed with a pillow over his head, clearly in a dark state of mind.

Peyton's heart ached at the sight of him looking so sad, she wanted to make it better for him but she wasn't sure if she could find the right words to help him. Her and Brooke stepped onto the room and closed the door behind them before cautiously approaching the large bed.

"Nathan," Brooke began with caution, "Peyton's here."

"Go away." His voice cracked, and with it, Peyton's heart.

"Baby, it's okay." She lowered herself onto the bed and crawled toward him slowly. "I'm okay, I'm sorry."

"Don't say that Peyton. You didn't deserve that." He shoved his pillow to the side and sat up slowly, rubbing his hands over his eyes. When he finally revealed them they had dark circles under them and he looked like he hadn't got a wink of sleep. "God, I'm so sorry." He whimpered as he met Peyton's gaze, seeing the dark purple bruise he'd created. His eyes dropped to stare at his lap as tears sprung to his baby blue eyes.

Peyton gestured for Brooke to leave them alone in the room as she crawled closer to Nathan and wrapped her thin arms around him. "I know you're sorry. I know. I'm sorry it came to that." She held him tight to her chest and rested her chin on his hair as they wept together. "It's never gonna happen again, right?" She whispered.

He nodded against her and pulled her down to lay beside him. "I love you, Babe. I'm so sorry."

Butterflies fluttered in her tummy at his words that never failed to get to her no matter how many times they were said. She believed him with all her heart. "I love you too. We're gonna be okay."

"Mhmm." Nathan nuzzled her neck and kissed it gently as his hands traveled up to her hair.

She wasn't the least bit surprised: sex fixed everything between them, it was their go-to problem solver even though they both knew it was just a distraction from the real issues. Their problems extended much farther than skin deep, but if it made them feel better then they would both just do it. It was almost as if they had to wipe their slate clean.

"My sexy girl." Nathan rumbled into her shoulder as he flipped her beneath him so that he could hover above her. He trailed kisses up to her lips and soon they were locked in an intense foreplay make out session.

They were totally lost in each other, loving every kiss and touch, cherishing each moment because when they were like this, nothing else mattered. Not Dan, Lucas, basketball, cheerleading, school, nothing could come between them. Nothing, that is, until there was a loud pounding on the door.

"Nathan Royal Scott, get your ass out here!" Dan. They'd taken too long to send Nathan down and now he was going to pay for it.

"Dad, I got my girl!" Nathan groaned in protest, not bothering to remove his hand from underneath his girlfriend's shirt as she lay beneath him, frozen in fear of his dad. Normally, that excuse would make Dan back off in respect for his son, but not today.

"Yeah, yeah, there's time for that later. Get OUT HERE."

Nathan apologized profusely to the stunned Peyton and pressed a loving kiss to her forehead before jumping up, adjusting his skewed clothing and hair, and heading to the door. As he slipped out, Brooke slipped in before Dan slammed the door shut and dragged his son down the stairs.

"Broookkee!" Peyton whined, looking to her best friend in desperation.

"He'll be okay, P. Sawyer. He didn't do anything to make Dan hurt him." The look of doubt on her best friend's face made Brooke's confidence falter. "But uh- let's go see what it's about."

The two girls crept out of the room and slunk to the top of the stairs where the peered unnoticed down at the living room below. Peyton grasped Brooke's hand in fear and shook like a leaf as they watched the scene unfold:

"You wanna explain that bruise on your girlfriend's face?" Dan bellowed, getting up in Nathan's face, rage contorting his features.

Brooke and Peyton gasped quietly, and squeezed each other's hands, realizing they hadn't corroborated their story with Nathan.

"Uh she- I don't know, sir." He was only making this worse for himself.

"You hit her didn't you? You hit a girl?! My son does not hit women!"

 _Crack_

Dan's hand smacked hard against Nathan's left cheek. Nathan stumbled but straightened up and met his father's gaze with teenage defiance. "Well, I learned from the best, didn't I?"

 _Crack_

"I never hit your mom, Nathan!" This was true, the abuse hadn't started until after she'd left. Dan grabbed Nathan up by his shirt and shoved him against the wall.

"This is bad." Brooke whispered, squeezing Peyton's hand. "He never brings up Mom."

Peyton could only let her tears pour as she watched her boyfriend get pummeled. This was the root of all his problems and she knew it, she couldn't blame him. Her heart broke seeing how it really was. She'd seen Dan hit him before but not this bad. Never an actual fight. She felt so betrayed, blind, and stupid seeing how it really was for the first time, she'd never imagined how rough Nathan had it.

Beside her, Brooke could feel her trembling. "Come on, honey. We don't need to see the rest." Brooke knew that it could get worse especially when Nathan would try to hit back, and she wanted to shelter her friend from that reality. She gently eased Peyton to her feet and started toward the bedroom door, but the pretty blonde's feet drug on the thick carpet.

"We- we gotta help him, Brooke!" Her voice cracked as she looked desperately back toward the living room, reaching weakly in the direction of the boy she cared so much about.

"We can't, P. Come on, we just have to wait it out, okay? Nate will be up in a minute, it won't last long, promise." Brooke regretted bringing Peyton along to watch. This was all too much for the already emotionally overloaded teen. She lead her back to Nathan's room and shut the door, guided her to the bed and turned on Nathan's stereo so that she didn't have to listen to the shouting below. Brooke held her best friend as they both cowered into Nathan's bed, burrowing in the pillows and blankets, creating a makeshift safe-haven to wait it out. She painfully remembered the days when Nathan would do this same thing for her when her parents argued: he'd always tried to make it better than it really was.

Peyton inhaled Nathan's intoxicating scent from the linens and curled up around a pillow as worry, fear, and guilt tortured her mind. She wanted so badly to run down there and stand between Nathan and Dan, and she wasn't entirely sure why she wasn't doing just that. She squeezed her eyes shut and waited as Brooke gently rubbed soothing circles into her back and repeatedly cooed that it would be okay, but she felt anything but okay. She felt like this was entirely her fault, and she hated herself for it.

The minutes ticked by slow, and after what seemed like an eternity, the girls heard the doorknob turn and they both shot up as Nathan entered the room, already holding an ice pack to the left side of his face. "Hey." He sighed, slowly sliding onto the end of the bed.

Peyton didn't know what to say as her tears fell uncontrollably, so she just draped herself over his lap and grasped the loose fabric of his sweatpants like they were her lifeline.

"Peyt, baby. It's okay." Nathan ran his free hand through her hair, sliding the hair tie out so that her wild curls fell loosely in every direction. "It happens, I'm used to it."

"That's so fucked up." Peyton sat up suddenly, staring directly into Nathan's uninjured eye. "You're used to being hurt? Nathan!"

"That's just how it is, okay? I can't report him, I'd be the one taken away to a foster home. Me and Brooke both. We'd probably have to leave Tree Hill High. You don't want that do you?" Nathan's passiveness toward his father's abuse only angered Peyton further.

"You can't just let him do that to you!"

"If any time, that was the time I deserved it." Nathan sighed in defeat. "I hurt you. I deserved every hit I got today."

"No! No you didn't! You deserve getting help, living in a home where you don't have to be afraid. You deserve the best, Nathan Scott." Peyton threw her arms around his neck and hid her face in his shoulder as she broke down. "I want to keep you safe but I don't know how!"

"I'm fine, Peyton." He sighed, sounding cold toward her. He didn't react to her hug and just slumped back against the pillows when she broke away from him.

"You're getting out of here, Nathan. When you turn 18 you're gonna move out and take Brooke with you!" Peyton glared at her passive boyfriend with determination. He'd be 18 this summer and then he'd be able to move out and be on his own.

"Where am I gonna go? He'll disown me if I leave, I don't have money for college anything if I leave and neither does Brooke." Nathan looked like he was getting angry. Peyton really knew how to push his buttons and he knew she wasn't going to drop it.

"You'll get a scholarship for Duke! I mean come on they've been looking at you since your freshman year!"

"It's not gonna work!" Nathan yelled, throwing his ice pack down in frustration, revealing an already puffy and bruised black eye.

"Uh, I think she's right, Nate" Brooke spoke timidly, taking her brothers hand and sincerely looking into his eyes. "We love you and you can't keep living like this. I know you have a decent savings account, so why not get out when you can?"

Nathan ran his hand over his face and sighed deeply, knowing these girls would not give up. "Look, you guys. I know you care and I love both of you for that, but my 18th birthday is almost 10 months away. I got a long time to figure this out. We'll see, okay?"

Both girls nodded, looking upset and lost.

"Come here" Nathan pulled both of them to his sides and wrapped his arms around them. "I love my girls." He said warmly, kissing Peyton's forehead.

"We love you too" both girls responded in unison.

Peyton snuggled close to Nathan, gripping the loose fabric of his shirt and inhaling his warm scent. She felt unstable and anxious, like her whole world was about to be turned upside down and she couldn't stop it. She was terrified and she just wanted to stay here, safe and snuggled with her two favorite people forever and ever.

 _ **Thank you for reading, and please review! I appreciate it so so much! Let me know what you think!**_

 _ **~PSawyerLove**_


	4. Chapter 4: Things I'll Never Say

Chapter 4: Things I'll Never Say

The week after Nathan hit Peyton was the worst either of them had in a long time. Dan was an absolute nightmare, always on Nathan's case about practicing, bulking up in the weight room and preventing Lucas Scott's success on the court. In turn, Nathan was a nightmare to Peyton. He took all his frustrations out on her, going to her for sex. Normally she would comply, but when she turned him down he would bitch and call her names she didn't deserve. She knew the situation sucked and she was trying to be there for him, but sometimes she just wanted to scream at him and tell him to leave her alone forever, but she knew she couldn't stay away.

Every time they fought he would call her up on the phone and sweet talk her into forgiving him. The same old cycle all the time, making her mad and fight just to make her feel sorry for him and take him back. Sometimes she thought he did it just to see how many times she would give in.

School was getting harder for the two troubled teens as well. Where once they'd been the most popular and well liked kids in school, they had recently been been getting attention for other reasons: people had always seen Nathan's bruises but had simply passed them off as coming from his athletic lifestyle or from schoolyard brawls, but when Peyton came to school with a black eye using the lame cheerleading excuse, some people put two and two together and already labeled Nathan as a girlfriend-beater. It wasn't hard for anyone to come to that conclusion based off of what they'd seen of his temper and strength. Even though many noticed, no one said anything to her, no teachers asked her if she was alright or if she needed help, no one reached out to her, they only stared and whispered as she walked the hallways under Nathan's arm, failing to conceal her injury. Some cocky football players even made up stories that Peyton had been hitting Nathan all along and that he'd finally grown the balls to hit back, which had earned one second-string running back a nice slam into the lockers from Nathan himself.

Peyton and Nathan were both now in a position they hadn't been in before, as the victims of nasty rumors and getting picked on relentlessly. Nathan did his best to intimidate the bullies away from his girlfriend, but he couldn't always protect her like he wanted. The worst of the rumors and whispering were in the girls locker room before Peyton's girls' strength training class: "She lets him hit her" one loud-mouthed field hockey player named Tracie chattered to a few of her teammates as they changed for class the Tuesday after the incident. Tracie was the little sister of a varsity basketball player, and one of those girls who came straight out of a movie, one who loved to be mean, spoke in a valley girl voice, and never put her stick-straight brown hair up for gym because she cared too much about how she looked, the kind of girl any serious athlete would avoid. Even some of her own team mates thought she was too full of herself. "Yeah it's true! She won't break up with him though, all they care about is the typical cheerleader/jock appearance, you know how those girls are." Her voice was accusing and mocking, a direct jab at the cheerleaders.

"Shut the hell up, Tracie." Peyton snapped from the next row of lockers.

"What? I'm not wrong, am I, Peyton?" The bold snob walked around to stare Peyton down from the end of the row.

"Yeah." The skinny blonde straightened up to her full height and crossed her arms over her chest. "First of all, you don't even know me. Second, cheerleaders are _not_ all the same and I don't know where you got the notion that we let our boyfriends walk all over us just for appearances!"

"I don't know, maybe because you do!" Tracie took a few steps toward Peyton. Though she was a good six inches shorter, she was certainly brave. "Where'd that bruise come from, huh Peyton?" She was taunting her to her last nerve.

Peyton shoved her away, ignoring the question as anger contorted her pretty face. "Fine, if you say that about cheerleaders then I can say field hockey players are all stuck up and think they're better than everyone else!"

"Screw you, bitch!" Tracie jumped at her, tackling her from the waist and pushing her down to the hard concrete floor. "You obviously can't fight, can you?" She taunted.

Unfamiliar rage burned inside Peyton as she grabbed hold of Tracie's shoulders, flipped her over, and slammed her into the floor, easily overtaking her. This girl was doing all she could to dig at Peyton and Peyton was not up to deal with anyone's shit today. Where normally she had self control, today she didn't care at all if she got caught fighting. She was so close to slamming Tracie into the ground again, but the girl thought fast and swatted at Peyton's face, painfully snagging her already bruised cheekbone. Peyton cried out in pain but didn't let Tracie gain advantage as the rest of the class gathered around them to watch.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" They chanted.

"Girls!" A shrill cry broke the crowd apart and all the spectators scattered back to their own locker areas. "Girls!" Coach Chelsea and Coach Sara, the field hockey coach, grabbed their respective team members and dragged them apart.

"What's going on?" Sara demanded as Tracie burst into crocodile tears.

"She's making fun of our sport!" Tracie fake-wailed, pointing a finger at Peyton. "She hit me!"

"That's so not what happened, and I did not hit her!" Peyton shouted, "She was talking shit about my boyfriend and the squad! _She_ hit _me!"_ Peyton was close to tears from frustration but she was not going to allow Tracie the satisfaction of making her cry so she held it in as best she could. This whole situation with Nathan was stressing her out beyond belief and she was reaching her breaking point. She wasn't sure how much she could take.

With no way to know who to believe, the coaches dragged both protesting girls straight to the principal's office and sat them down right in front of Principal Turner. Peyton had never been to the principal's office for anything since fourth grade when she threw a rock at a girl who teased her for not having a mom, and she had no idea how to talk her way out of this.

"Miss Sawyer, Miss Smith, what happened? Your coaches say you were fighting in the locker room?" Principal Turner's deep voice full of suspicion and disappointment put Peyton on edge.

Tracie spoke up first. "She made fun of me and hit me!"

"Okay I did not hit you!" Peyton half yelled in exacerbation. "Principal Turner, she was saying bad things about my boyfriend and the cheer squad and making things up! When I told her to stop she didn't and she tackled me!"

"Is that bruise from today, Peyton?" He asked, gesturing to her eye.

"Uh, no sir, but she did hit me there to make it worse."

"I did not!"

"Yes you did!"

"Girls! Girls. Since there's no way to know who's story is the truth, I'm going to have to punish the both of you with a week of after school detention. You could be suspended for this but since I don't know what happened, I don't feel confident enough to make that severe of a call. Anymore of this monkey business from either of you and I will not hold back. Understand?"

"Yes sir." Both girls sighed.

"Miss Smith, you're free to return to class. Sawyer, I would like to have a word with you in a few minutes, do you mind waiting in the lobby?"

"Okay." She was insanely annoyed, and about to protest, but she decided that would only get her into deeper waters, so Peyton got to her feet and followed Tracie out, but stopped, dropping herself in a chair by the door. Tracie sneered at her as she left, but didn't dare try anything in the presence of the secretaries.

She pulled out her phone and started typing a message to Nathan and Brooke about what had happened, but Nathan was in the team sports class that was at the same time as her strength training class and she knew he wouldn't have his phone on him. At least he'd have an explanation for why she wasn't there when class was over. She was so wrapped up in telling the heated story in three full texts she didn't notice the girl who took a seat beside her.

"Hey what happened to your eye?"

Peyton's head snapped up and she turned to glare at the girl who'd spoken. She was short, had golden brownish hair and was wearing an awful crochet poncho. She looked caring and her eyes and voice were full of concern, something Peyton hadn't seen from any other catty student in this school. She immediately put up her defenses, sensing that this girl wanted to know the real story.

"God, I'm so sick of that question! I dropped a flyer on my face in cheer." She grumbled, turning back to her phone.

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't meant to bother you. It looks like it hurts, are you okay?" The girl asked with a cautious tone, clearly not believing her story.

"I'm fine."

"Oh, I'm Haley James, by the way. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Peyton Sawyer" she responded flatly turning back to her phone, uninterested in just another girl who only wanted to talk to her because she was popular.

"I think I'm supposed to be your new tutor in math. Mr. Barker asked me."

"What?" She looked back up at Haley in surprise and annoyance. "I didn't ask for a tutor!"

"You don't get a choice, I guess. He told me that he really wants you doing better in his class and that he'd automatically fail you if you didn't do it."

"Is that even legal?" Peyton threw her head back and rolled her eyes. "I swear that man hates my guts."

"If he hated you, he wouldn't be helping you, would he?"

Peyton rolled her eyes and sunk lower in her seat, hating that this Haley girl was playing devil's advocate.

"Come on it'll be fine, I promise I'm a fun tutor."

"Sure you are."

"Your boyfriend can come. Mr. Barker said I have to tutor him too, and if joint tutoring is what it takes I'll do it for you guys." Haley looked genuinely willing to help them and concerned with their grade, and it was confusing to Peyton that someone actually wanted to help her instead of just yelling at her or calling her names to try to fix the problem.

"Look, you seem really nice, and I really do appreciate the effort, but I'm not worth your time, and Nathan won't go for it. I'm sure you have more important people to help."

"What do you mean you're ' _not worth' my time_?!" The pretty brunette sounded shocked and almost disgusted by Peyton's concern. "Of _course_ you're worth it, Peyton!"

"Well, I-" she was cut off.

"Miss Sawyer?" Principal Turner stuck his head out the door of his office and beckoned her in.

Peyton apologized to Haley and said she'd talk to her later about tutoring before heading into Turner's office with caution. She nearly turned on her heel and left when she saw one of the school guidance counselors seated in one of the chairs, and she would have had it not been for Principal Turner. Her heart pounded and lept into her throat as she realized what was happening: she was going to be interrogated about her bruise.

She nervously sunk into a chair and crossed her arms defensively over her chest, seriously considering sending a "help me" text to Brooke to get her out of this. Her eyes darted from Principal Turner to the guidance counselor, expecting one of them to explain.

"Hi, Peyton" the counselor began, extending her hand which Peyton took politely. "I'm Mrs. Burke. How are you?"

"I'm good, thanks. And you?" Her voice came out hoarse and small like a scared little child's.

"I'm great. Listen, there's some things I'd like to speak with you about."

Peyton nodded nervously, unsure of how she was going to get out of this one.

"Where did you get that bruise?" Mrs. Burke's voice was gentle but Peyton was on edge and half ready to burst.

"I told everyone else and I'll tell you: it's from cheerleading."

"We know that's not true, honey. We spoke to your coach and she said nothing went wrong at all last week."

"I- I didn't tell her." She knew she was caught but it was worth a try. "It didn't hurt that bad until I got home."

"Did someone hit you, Peyton?"

She stayed silent, knowing she couldn't lie but that she also couldn't tell the truth. If she said yes, they would force who out of her and if she said no they wouldn't believe her. "Uh…"

"You can tell us, was it your boyfriend? We can help you, honey."

She couldn't hold her frustration in any longer: "You can't help me, okay? I'm taking care of it just fine on my own. I don't need anyone else butting in and ruining everything! Thanks for the concern, but no, thanks." Peyton felt anxiety and panic bubbling up in her stomach and she felt like he was going to puke as she jumped to her feet and hurried out of the small office, tears pricking almost painfully at her eyes. She'd never been so rude to administrators before, but they'd been encroaching on and endangering her personal life, and she tried to get a hold of her panicked self as she full out sprinted toward the closest girls' bathroom. She ran into the first stall and tossed open the lid, emptying the scarce contents of her stomach into the bowl, acid taste filling her senses. When she finished she wiped her mouth on some toilet paper and sat on the lid, leaning her head in her hands.

Her thoughts were all over Nathan: what would happen if they pursued her case and found out that it _was_ him? What would happen to him? What if they found out about Dan? Her worry was making her feel sick again when she felt her phone buzz in the waistband of her gym shorts. It was a text from Brooke:

' _Meet me in a bathroom, text me when you're out and where.'_

' _I'm in the one by the office. Hurry please.'_ She texted back, still shaking. Whether it was from panic or from being sick, she didn't know.

It didn't take long for Brooke to get there, but to Peyton it felt like forever. She unlocked her stall to let Brooke in, and Brooke wrinkled her nose when she stepped inside. "Ew did you get sick?" She asked indicating the acrid smell.

Peyton nodded, looking downhearted. "I panicked. They were asking me all these questions, and they were on to me so I kinda just bolted out of there, I freaked. I don't know what to do Brooke." Tears were pouring down the blondes cheeks and she made no move to stop them. Around others, she would put her guard up and present a hard, overly sassy front to the world, but with her best friend, there was no holding back.

Brooke hoisted Her best friend to her feet and led her out of the claustrophobic stall and out toward the sinks. "There's not a thing you can do except lie to protect Nathan" she sighed in a comforting tone as she handed Peyton her water bottle.

"I'm the worst liar, you and I both know that. I'll get caught." Peyton shook her head in disbelief as she took a swig to rinse out her mouth. "You know they have it figured out."

"Well if you just keep denying it then they can't do anything. Just stick to your story."

"I'm scared."

"Stop being scared. You're a big girl, you can do it." Brooke's tone was almost cruel and mocking, and that only increased her friend's anxiety.

Brooke ushered Peyton out of the bathroom, putting on a brave face for her best friend while on the inside she was just as scared and confused. If Nathan got caught, that would be very very bad, and Dan would be next. If Dan was discovered, Brooke and Nathan would be taken away, and Brooke's greatest fear was being taken away from her home against her will and placed in a foster home away from Tree Hill. She would do anything to keep that from happening.

She pushed Peyton down the hall, closer to the gym. Brooke had always been the one to push Peyton into situations she was nervous about. She'd been the one to set her up with Nathan, pressure her into kissing him and giving herself to him. Brooke would always talk about how great sex was and how she wished her best friend knew what she was talking about so they could talk about it together, so after months of that along with Nathan's clear desire, Peyton finally gave into Nathan. Brooke and Nathan both had such a huge influence on Peyton's life she wasn't even sure what she wanted anymore, and she trudged along with Brooke just like always.

The two best friends gave each other a parting hug when they reached the divide between their classroom halls, promising to see each other at cheer practice, and went to their respective classes. Dread filled Peyton's conscious as she approached the gym doors, knowing all eyes would be on her. All she wanted to do was go home and curl up under her blankets listening to The Cure.

 _ **If you were a die-hard Avril Lavigne fan in the early 2000s like me, then you've probably noticed the story title and this chapter title are taken from songs on her "Let Go" album. Seriously though, if you haven't listened to it, you need to.**_

 _ **Please review! Thanks a bunch!**_

 _ **~ PSawyerLove**_


	5. Chapter 5: Too Little, Too Late

Chapter 5:

Haley James was always one to be concerned with the wellbeing of her tutoring students. She was a firm believer that the home life had a huge impact on the outcome of school grades, and she wanted to be a kind of support system for her students; she saw them as friends. It was always hard to break the ice with the more difficult kids, but once she was through the initial angry 'I'm too good for this' attitude, her students would fly through material they'd previously struggled with, and for that she took pride.

The two people she was about to invest a lot of time and energy in, she could already tell, had a lot of issues, and she figured she was up for a challenge with them. The cheerleader and the jock to be tutored by the nerd, not to mention she was the jock's arch enemy's best friend. Boy, was she in for it. She considered that maybe she could somehow draw Nathan and Lucas together: after all, the only reason they hated each other was because they didn't know each other well enough.

She'd expected Peyton Sawyer to be an absolute bitchy nightmare, but meeting her in the lobby had totally changed her mind on the loner cheerleader. Peyton had seemed almost timid when Haley had introduced herself, and the defensiveness of her tone was concerning. What was the mysterious blonde hiding? Why was she so nervous? Haley had observed how Peyton had been distracted, typing at lightning speed into her phone like her life depended on it, and how she had looked like a deer caught in headlights when Principal Turner had called her in. What on Earth was she so scared of? And when she'd fled out of the office looking like she'd seen a ghost? What was all this about? Haley didn't want to be nosey, but her curiosity and natural concern was getting the better of her. She was determined to get to the bottom of this.

After school that same day, Haley was working in Karen's Cafe when Lucas popped in after a particularly tense practice. He didn't know what was up with Nathan, but he'd been extra angry today. Lucas took a seat on one of the barstools at the counter and smiled at his best friend:

"Hey, Hales. What's up?"

"Not much" she responded before hesitating. "Um, you know how I'm about to start tutoring the most popular couple in school?" She waited for his nod, and for him to look up at her curiously. "Well I met Peyton Sawyer today. The Peyton Sawyer you've had a crush on since eighth grade? Well she's not as bad as I thought."

"Really?" Lucas asked, his eyebrows raising and a smile gracing his face.

"Yeah, but I'm a little worried about her too."

"How come?"

Haley explained Peyton's weird behavior to her best friend, concern lacing her every word, and watching as Lucas's own expression turned to worry matching her's. Together they brainstormed about what she, the queen of the school, could possibly worry about besides her Algebra grade. Lucas was playing it cool and making jokes about it until Haley mentioned the possibility of domestic abuse, which changed his demeanor dramatically.

"I don't know much about Nathan, but I know enough not to put it past him. God, if he's hurting her, Haley, someone needs to do something" Lucas said, suddenly very serious.

"I know, and I hate just standing by but I want to earn her trust first and help her if she's willing to let me. I don't want to scare her away, and Nathan could be a victim in this too."

"I doubt that, and the longer we wait, the worse it could get! Listen, He's a jerk, Haley. He blew her off after practice today and one of her friends had to give her a ride home, it was really sad. Last week they were yelling at each other outside after practice, and I see them fighting all the time. They don't seem like they have a good dynamic at all."

Haley imagined the scared-looking girl she'd seen in the lobby earlier being left, wandering the gym helplessly with no ride home and asking someone politely, explaining and apologizing nervously; and then she imagined the venom-and-fire-spitting Peyton she'd always thought of pacing the gym floor with flames in her eyes, bitching to her squad about her jackass boyfriend and snapping at one of them to give her a ride. Which was she really? She realized she really didn't know anything about Peyton Sawyer, let alone Nathan Scott. "Look, just because he's a jerk doesn't mean he hits her, Lucas. Friendly reminder that he has suspicious bruises too. And who are we to judge? We have no idea about either of them. Come on, it could be completely innocent."

"Alright. See what you can find out from tutoring them, though." Lucas was Pushing it. The curiosity he denied that he had for the two mysterious people was shining through.

"I will, okay? I'm sure it'll be okay."

"Okay. well if it turns out that something is going on, what do we do?"

"We can't do anything or even plan anything until we know the situation."

Lucas dropped the subject, and as Haley put a plate of after-school snacks in front of him, he drifted off into Peyton Sawyer-filled daydreams. He'd had a crush on her since eighth grade, when he'd really started to notice the girls in his class and their looks. She hadn't been exactly extraordinary in looks back then, but she was very pretty for a 13-year-old. He remembered her rich brown curls before they'd ever been touched by hair dye, the innocent look on her face before she'd started wearing real makeup and dating Nathan, and the way she seemed to float off into her own little world at the lunch table while her other girlfriends chatted obnoxiously about shallow Jr high things. Something about the look in her eyes drew him toward her. He felt like there was someone inside her that was so much deeper than the other girls.

The other, less important thing that drew him toward her was her legs. He remembered the first time he'd noticed them: he'd been near her during a relay warm up in gym class when he'd sat down as he finished his turn. He'd turned to cheer on his team and caught sight of them out of the corner of his eye and done a double-take. She was standing just a few feet away, her shorts maybe a little too short for school and her legs at eye level with him, long and bare. Just one split-second glance and he was in love.

From then on, he would watch her in a non-creepy way: he noticed her in the playground, in gym, in the lunchroom, and his eyes would linger just enough to go unnoticed by anyone. She was simply captivating to him, and he yearned to know more about this mysterious girl who demanded his attention. Every time he saw her his heart felt like it sped up and he would smile, simply enjoying her presence. He knew that was just another reason for Nathan to hate him, but he couldn't help it: she lit up his life.

Lucas was bothered by what Haley had told him about Peyton seeming scared. He couldn't imagine a soul hurting her because all he ever saw in her was perfection. His heart broke for her, and he hoped with all his heart that whatever was bothering her would be resolved soon. For now, all he could do was hope and pray that she would be okay, and wait until he had more information to help her.

Peyton had an awful rest of her day. When she'd returned to gym after the principal visit, everyone had stared at her exchanging whispers with each other and she hadn't had any fight left in her to confront them. Tracie had been extremely aggressive toward her, even going so far as to "accidentally" drop a twenty-five-pound weight on her foot in the weight room. Peyton hardly even reacted, figuring she would be the one who would get in trouble if she even dared yell at the bitch. She did her work out in silence and her lifting partner, who was also on her cheer squad, didn't speak a word to her. To make matters worse, Nathan even blew her off after class. She'd been desperate for just a simple hug of support, but he'd left before she'd even finished changing.

Rumors spread like wildfire at Tree Hill High, and even in her next class, people were whispering about the locker room brawl. She felt like a celebrity being followed by paparazzi, with all these eyes on her, and she just wanted it to stop. She even debated skipping cheer practice for the day, but knew she'd lose her co-captain status if she even dared. Plus, she hopped to see Nathan afterward. He was her ride that day after all. She wanted with all her heart to bring Nathan up to her room and just snuggle with him for hours, maybe cry a little bit, probably have sex; she was desperate to unwind a little after the horrible day she'd already had, and she craved his attention like she craved water to live.

Her day just got worse and she regretted coming to practice in the first five minutes.

"Sawyer!" Coach Chelsea barked as Peyton exited the locker room cautiously. She noticed Brooke backing away from Chelsea, slumped over like she knew shit was about to go down.

"Yes ma'am?" Peyton sighed, coming to stand before her coach, in front of the whole squad who were already lined up for practice.

"You're suspended from being co-captain."

" _What_?!" Peyton cried in shock, hoping she was being punked.

"You heard me. We can't have a representative of this squad involved in fights, physical or otherwise. You will earn back your title, but for now, Brooke will be the sole captain of the squad."

"This isn't fair! I was defending myself!"

"Sure you were. Get in line."

"But—"

" _Now,_ Sawyer!"

She jumped and turned to join her place in the front row, noticing that everyone was staring at her with a kind of pity that embarrassed her to her very core. She couldn't believe she'd just been demoted and punished in full view of her entire squad like she was some show for them. She felt like she'd lost everyone's respect in that moment.

She wanted to run away, straight out the gym doors and never come back, but she didn't want to make an even bigger spectacle of herself, so she took her place and didn't speak another word other than their chants for the rest of practice.

She felt so isolated at practice that day: during water breaks no one who normally sat near her did, and no one came to talk to her except for Brooke just to see if she was okay. Of course she wasn't okay, but she wasn't about to burst into tears in front of the team and embarrass herself further, so she told her she was fine. She sat by herself the whole time and watched the boys playing on the court.

She noticed that Nathan seemed stressed. She could see it in the tenseness of his shoulders and in the way he furrowed his brow. She also noticed Lucas, who had been playing better recently and was now pretty similar to Nathan.

Peyton had never noticed before how gorgeous Lucas was. His blond hair, shimmering with sweat and his bulging muscles attracted her, but what really drew her in was his eyes. They were the same ocean blue as Nathan's but the depth in them was something different. Something just drew her in, made her want to know more about him when she looked at him, and she just didn't know what to think or feel about it. If Nathan knew that she so much as watched Lucas for a second, he'd be beyond pissed. So, no matter how much she wanted to watch the mysterious and intriguing Lucas, she kept her eyes on Nathan.

After practice Nathan ditched her once again. She watched him from across the gym as he walked out, laughing with some friends. Tears finally came to her eyes when she noticed Brooke and Theresa talking animatedly about a mall trip, also leaving her behind. She didn't have a ride home.

She did her very best to hold herself together as she gathered her stuff into her bag and slung it over her shoulder. She knew she always had a bitchy expression when she was trying to mask her feelings, so she was surprised when Bevin, one of her teammates and good friend came up to her.

"Hey Peyton," Bevin began with her airy, comfortably clueless smile. "What's wrong? You look mad."

"My ride just ditched me, that's all." Peyton fixed her resting bitch face and returned her smile. She couldn't be mad around Bevin, she was just too warm and welcoming. "I'm fine, really. I'll just walk."

"Oh no! I'll give you a ride!" Bevin linked arms with her and started skipping off toward the doors.

"Bev, we live on opposite sides of town! Don't go out of your way for me!"

"It's no big deal. Besides, your day must've sucked, it's the least I can do."

"Yeah, my day did suck." Peyton followed Bevin to her car. "What the hell was with Coach today?"

"I know, right?! She totally didn't have to bitch you out in front of the whole squad."

"That's what I was thinking. I didn't even start the fight earlier, it was that bitch on the field hockey team that everyone hates."

"Tim's sister?"

"Yeah."

"Wow. Well I'm sorry you lost your position. You'll get it back."

"I hope so." They pulled up to Peyton's house and she got out of the car, turning to Bevin with a smile. "Thanks for the ride, Bev. I really really appreciate it. I owe you."

"Don't worry about it. I'll see you tomorrow! Bye, girl!" Bevin waved.

"Bye!"

Peyton went inside as Bevin pulled away and started off down the street. Her mood was lifted slightly just by her friends kindness alone, but now that she was by herself, she had time to wonder why her boyfriend and her best friend had so blatantly blown her off today. She couldn't help but wonder if she'd done something wrong or if maybe they were too scared to be around her now that the administration was on to them. She considered trying to call Brooke or Nathan for a second, but ditched that thought as inexplicable anger washed over her and she didn't want to hear from either of them.

She went upstairs, got showered and changed into sweats, and put on some sad music to lay on her bed doing what she did best: brooding. She could be drawing or studying, there was still plenty of daylight left, but she felt like after the day she'd had, she had no energy left for anything. She fell asleep early, still sprawled out on her bed, too drained for anything else.

 _ **I know I'm making this very drawn out, and that you want Leyton & Naley to get together, but just be patient. I promise they'll meet within the next two chapters. Thanks for reading, and let me know how I'm doing by reviewing! Also, if you have any specific things you might want to happen let me know! I'm open to suggestions! **_

_**~PSawyerLove**_

 _ **xox**_


	6. Chapter 6: Blurred Lines

_***Update: This chapter originally used the incorrect team name. after actually looking it up, I corrected it from Bear Creek to Oak Lake.***_

Chapter 6

All week after being ambushed in the principal's office, Peyton didn't hear a word from Nathan. Whenever she'd confront Brooke about it, she would just claim "Oh, he's just busy preparing for the game against Oak Lake on Friday."

Oak Lake was one of their toughest opponents, but Peyton wasn't buying that excuse. Nathan normally used her to help him prepare by having her video him practice or simply by motivating him. It was breaking her heart that he was shutting her out. On one hand, she missed him dearly, but on the other hand, she was pissed that he was choosing now to withdraw from her. She needed his support and guidance through all these tough rumors, but she was also worried about how things with Dan were going, and Brooke wasn't telling her much.

She felt so isolated from everyone, because even though the bruise had faded, the rumors and assumptions had not, and Tracie from the field hockey team was doing all in her power to turn everyone against Peyton for the fight they'd had on Tuesday. Especially now that she wasn't cheer co-captain she felt like she had no importance at school anymore: no one liked her and she was no longer a leader, so what fun did she have there anymore? It was just hell, and it had seemingly gotten that way in the course of just a few days.

Friday rolled around and Peyton decided, as she dressed in her flashy cheerleading uniform, that she was going to get a one-on-one conversation with her boyfriend today, even if it killed her. She pulled her hair into the half-up-half-down style that kept it tame enough to tumble with but wild enough to drive Nathan crazy, and applied his favorite lip gloss before she put on her Raybans aviators and got into her badass 1963 Mercury Comet, driving to school in style.

Every eye on campus was on her as she pulled into the lot, ragtop down, but all that mattered to her were the baby blues staring her down from the jock table. Nathan Scott's baby blues. She knew he wanted her still, so why was he avoiding her?

She made sure that he was looking as she stepped out of her car, extending her long, bare legs in attempt to draw him back to her. She was going to walk right up to him and plant a good morning kiss right on his lips. She was going to make him want her again. He couldn't rebuff his gorgeous and willing girlfriend in front of all of his teammates, could he? She knew as well as him that any one of them would gladly take his spot in her life, so she hopped he would step up and protect what was his.

On her way over to his table, she locked eyes with none other than Lucas Scott, the hated half-brother of Nathan. His smoulder nearly melted her as his gaze flicked to her legs for a half second. He was checking her out. When his eyes met hers again, she nearly flinched from the intensity. Something in those eyes stirred up unfamiliar feelings. She averted her gaze back to Nathan, just as he jumped up from his seat and marched right up to his half-brother.

"What the hell do you think you're looking at, man?" Nathan snarled darkly as he took Lucas by the front of his shirt and pushed him up against the wall. "That's my girl you're looking at!"

Lucas seemed shocked as his eyes widened and he held up his hands in surrender. "I didn't, man, I wasn't-"

"NATHAN!" Peyton shouted, planting her hands on her hips. "Put. Him. Down. Now." she seethed, spitting venom and fire in every word. Peyton Sawyer was thin as a twig, and didn't look like much in terms of a threat, but, hell, when she used that tone, one would think they could drop dead just from it alone.

Nathan froze. "Peyt-"

"Nathan! NOW!"

He slowly released Lucas, but not before leaning in and grumbling a threat in his ear. Nathan returned to Peyton's side and looked at her like a toddler caught red-handed doing something he shouldn't. The whole of the quad watched in shock as, without a word, Peyton grabbed his wrist in a vice grip and dragged him into the school. For many watching, the scene that had just unfolded seemed to confirm the rumor that Peyton had complete control over Nathan, and that she was the one beating him. For others, Nathan's clear display of his raging temper confirmed that he beat her.

Peyton stomped down the hallway with Nathan in tow until the reached the empty stairwell. She turned to him with an angry glare that would send anyone running.

"Who the hell do you think you are?!" she spat.

"Peyt, he was checking you out!"

"Him and half the school!"

"I was trying to defend you!"

"Don't you _dare._ " Nothing her boyfriend said would make this better. It only made her angrier. "You haven't given me the time of day since _Tuesday morning_ , and you somehow think that's not an issue? That it's okay that the only time you seem to even remotely care about me is when someone else is giving me even the slightest bit of attention?! You are such a jackass!"

"That wasn't just 'anyone,' Peyt, that was _him._ You know how I feel about him. You don't need to be such a bitch." Nathan gave a weak defense.

"So if it's anyone else checking me out you wouldn't give a shit? Is that what you're saying?! You don't care about me anymore but Lucas isn't allowed to either?" She took a menacing step toward him as angry tears welled in her eyes. She hadn't realized just how upset she was with him until she could no longer control it.

"No! No, babe! I do-"

"Then why haven't you spoken to me in almost three days?!"

"Peyton." He placed his hands on her shoulders and held her at arm's length, doing everything in his power to control his own anger that was threatening to boil over. "Listen, I was scared, okay?"

"That doesn't make sense-"

"No, hear me out, okay?" he gave her a little shake to shut her up. "I was scared because the principal was on to me and Dan's been really hard on me this week because of the big game, and I was scared I would take it out on you again."

"Y-you thought you might hit me again?" she asked, barely above a whisper.

"Yeah, I did. And I didn't know how to handle it and I didn't need more rumors, so I was avoiding you, but when I saw him gawking at you like you were some zoo animal, I just couldn't let that happen. I'm sorry."

She threw her arms around his neck, surprising the both of them at her sudden mood change. "Just stop being an ass and pay attention to your girlfriend" she sighed in his ear as she pulled away to lead him to class.

His excuse was lame: all he was doing was running from his problems. She didn't want to forgive him but she had to. Her heart wouldn't let her stay angry at him, it never did. He would always get her with those ocean blue eyes, or that smirk that could kill her, or in the way he really sounded sorry when he apologized. She was a sucker for all things Nathan Scott, but sometimes she wished with all her heart that she wasn't.

The day wore on and on, and to Peyton, it felt like the Oak Lake game would never come. At least Nathan was talking to her again, even going so far as to sext her in class. She was sure the whole class could see how red her cheeks got, and she couldn't believe she hadn't been caught by the teacher, giggling every few minutes. Her Nathan was back, at least, for now he was.

She hunted him down at lunch time and found him at his usual place at the jock table. She knew he liked when she was promiscuous in front of his friends and she was going to do anything to show him that she appreciated him, and reward him for his attention. No matter how much she hated to admit it, she had missed his affection, and she was starving for it.

She marched right up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck from behind and ran her hands over his chest, smirking at his friends. "Hey, babe" she purred in his ear. "Wanna go get ready for the game?"

"Damn" he gasped under his breath, leaning against her. Without another word, he shot a sideways, gloating look at his friends and stood, taking her hand.

She led him off toward the parking lot with a slight skip in her step. "Please tell me you brought your truck today."

"I made a good decision," he grumbled huskily. "Come on." He lead her to his SUV and pulled her with him into the back seat. "I can't believe I stayed away from you this long."

"Me neither. You normally don't last a day" she panted as her lips crashed into his in desperation. "I missed you too much."

"Me too, never again." he ran his hands up her sides and slipped them under her top, unhooking her bra and flattening his hands against the bare skin of her back. "I missed this." he husked.

Her hands roamed too, one finding his solid abs while the other clawed at the back of his shirt. "Take it off" she hissed as she straddled him, starving for physical contact.

He did as he was told, but knew she wouldn't be doing the same. She was so self conscious that even with his tinted windows, she refused to strip down when they did this. "Are we gonna fuck?" Nathan asked as he lowered his hands to her legs. They were long and slim with lean, athletic muscle beneath soft, smooth skin, and they drove him crazy as he reached her cheer bloomers and tugged at the elastic. How did he get so lucky? He'd never appreciated cheerleaders' athleticism until he started dating Peyton. She nearly matched him in endurance and he could feel how strong she was, even though she was skinny as a twig.

"Please," she panted, kissing down his neck and yanking impatiently at his belt. "Fuck me, Nathan."

"Ugh, I love game days," He moaned as he maneuvered her bloomers down her long legs and she fished in his pocket for a condom.

It was a home game tonight with an after party at one basketball alum's beach house, so it was even more important for the team to win. The community was counting on them. Peyton always got nervous before games. Even though she wasn't playing, her boyfriend was, and she knew his happiness depended on how well he did on the court. If he played anything less than his absolute best, his dad would have his throat, and she wouldn't see him for days.

As the cheerleaders formed a tunnel at the entrance of the gym and the boys ran through, Peyton's heart was pounding. She had a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach, screaming at her that something was going to go wrong. She had no idea why she got so anxious, but she couldn't help it.

"You alright, P. Sawyer?" Brooke asked as the cheerleaders lined up, Brooke and Peyton at the center of the front line: the captain's' position. Peyton had been demoted, but no one replaced her, so she was keeping her spot. "You look like you're gonna hurl."

"I'm good," Peyton reassured her best friend as they turned toward the flag for the national anthem.

With the roar of the fans and the tweet of a whistle, the ball was tossed in the air, and the game began with both Nathan and Lucas starting. Peyton could tell something was off the moment Nathan lost the jump. He was distracted by something.

The game passed by in a horrific flurry of uncharacteristically bad playing from Nathan, and amazing playing from Lucas. The Tree Hill Ravens won by a mere two points from Lucas's winning shot, and Peyton knew she was in for a hellish night with Nathan. Glancing to the stands, it wasn't hard to find Dan Scott's livid expression amidst the sea of cheering fans.

Nathan half sprinted into the locker room after the game in an attempt to avoid his dad, and snuck out the back, sending Peyton a text to get a ride to the party with Brooke.

Peyton did say much on the way to the party, and neither did Brooke. Without even speaking, they both knew what the other was thinking: Nathan was in for a weekend of endless workouts and lectures. If he hadn't snuck out of the locker room, he wouldn't even be at this party. Peyton found him already drinking by the time she got there.

"Hey, babe," she cooed softly, knowing if she mentioned the game he would blow up on her. She wrapped her thin arms around him and kissed his jaw. She could tell it would be a bad night by the way he pulled away from her.

"Just leave me alone, Peyt." he was sitting on the couch, behind the keg, clearly intending to get as drunk as he could, as fast as he could.

This meant it was really bad. Normally, he would be womanizing, picking up girls and ignoring _his girl_. Brooke had told her once that it was his defense mechanism, and that he only ignored her when he didn't feel good enough for her, but that didn't make her feel any better. She tried not to take it personally, but it always pissed her off. The bad nights were the nights they would break up, but she knew he was struggling, especially because he wasn't all over other girls, so she decided to take the high road and not start an argument.

"Baby let me-"

"I said leave me the fuck alone!" he spat, not looking at her.

She had been about to say '-take care of you.'

She just shook her head and started off in the other direction to the kitchen where the was another keg not being claimed by Nathan.

There weren't many people in there, just a couple making out, someone smoking by an open window, and a boy from Oak Lake helping himself to the alcohol. Peyton made her way over and went to grab a cup from the stack, but was stopped by the Oak Lake player grabbing her wrist.

"Hey, allow me, pretty lady," he purred in a voice that made her uneasy. He had a cup in hand already and filled it up for her. " There you go. The name's Damien. Can I get yours?"

"Th-thanks." she stuttered as he handed her the drink. "I'm Peyton." People were afraid of nathan, and she wasn't used to other teenage boys openly flirting with her, and the fact that this was one of Nathan's most hated rivals made her even more uncomfortable.

"Peyton!" Damien's eyes went dark, and his smile curled. "You're Nathan Scott's girlfriend."

"How'd you know?" she took a swig of her beer to conceal her surprise and uneasiness. She just wanted to catch a buzz and move on with her night, and this guy was creeping her out.

"You'd be surprised how much other teams know."

"Huh." she turned to leave the kitchen, but was stopped in her tracks when Damien's hand caught her arm once more.

"Hey, why don't you tell me a bit about that Nathan? He didn't play too well tonight, did he?"

"He was fine, and no thanks, I don't need to tell you about him. I need to go check on him, actually." she tried to be firm, but her voice faltered. She had a funny feeling in her stomach. She turned again, but he stopped her and spun her around to face him.

"What, you don't trust him with other girls?" he was getting in her face and holding her too close. She didn't like it. "You need someone who you know will stay loyal."

"N-no! I gotta go, okay?" but all of a sudden, she was slurring her words, her head was spinning, and her legs were starting to feel like jelly.

"Are you feeling okay? I think you had a little too much to drink," he purred, his smile growing with satisfaction. "Lets sit you down somewhere."

"But I only had a little…" she trailed off as he put his arm under hers to support her suddenly weak body. She may have been a lightweight, but her tolerance wasn't _that_ low.

It all happened so fast, and he started to lead her out of the kitchen and down a dark hallway. Peyton's heart dropped when she realized exactly what was happening: He'd drugged her drink, and he certainly wasn't just taking her to sit down.

 _ **ooh cliff hanger! Thank you for the reviews on the previous chapter! There were so many more than usual and it just totally made my day! So this chapter starts the lead up to the big Dan fight which will most likely happen in the next chapter.**_

 _ **Thank you so much for reading and please review!**_

 _ **xox**_

 _ **PSawyerLove**_


	7. Chapter 7: Help

Chapter 7

 _ ***Warning: sexual assault in this chapter**_ _ **but no further than a very close call**_ _ **. It's not too graphic, but it could be upsetting to some. if details upset you, please skip until the double asterisks (**), thank you***_

'Why me? Why do bad things always happen to me?' That's what was running through Peyton Sawyer's drug-clouded mind as she was half dragged down the dark and daunting hallway. She'd had one hellish week, but still to end it this way was not at all what she had expected.

Her whimpers and cries fell on deaf ears as she was pulled into one of the bedrooms. No one could hear her over the music in the living room, no one was coming to help her. Her attacker couldn't care less about her terrified tears, in fact, knowing that he was hurting his rival's girlfriend made them so much sweeter to him.

Peyton was thrown onto the bed and her head knocked painfully against the headboard evoking from her a weak cry as pain radiated through her skull. She was trying her hardest to focus on staying awake and fighting, but whatever small amount of drug she had taken in that mouthful of beer was severely impairing her. Her attacker approached her with an evil smile that made her stomach churn, and she wracked her brain for any memory from self-defense class from Girl Scouts when she was little and came up blank. As he leaned over her, she decided just to use all she had and she struck him as hard as she could in the nose and kicked at him weakly. It wasn't a lot, but it was all she could do.

He cursed, holding his nose and drew back his arm only to backhand her, hard, sending stars through her already blurred vision. "Fucking bitch" he spat as he grabbed her upper arms in a vice grip and gave her a rough shake. "You're gonna like this, you hear me?"

She was losing energy fast, and couldn't fight back as he held her down and traced kisses all down her neck and groped her painfully in all the wrong ways, making her skin crawl from disgust.

"N-NO!" She cried, but it came out as hardly a squeak. As her inner panic rose, she remembered her and Brooke's 'party S.O.S.' signal. All she had to do was call Brooke, and she should come looking for her.

They'd decided on this code when they had both gone to their first party freshman year. They had agreed that if either of them were in a compromising position, all they had to do was call the other and she'd come running. It had saved the both of them on dozens of occasions of awkward flirting or situations of peer pressure, and now, with this stranger's fingers playing at the elastic of her cheer bloomers, Peyton hoped with all her heart that it could save her from this. Hopefully this wouldn't be the one time it failed.

Peyton squirmed uncomfortably under her attacker as he started to slide her jacket down her shoulder and dug his knees painfully into her thighs. She reached desperately into the waistband of her skirt and pulled out her cellphone. She was so weak she could barely pinch it open with her fingers, but when she did, she wasted no time finding the first contact on her speed dial and pressing the button. She sent up a silent prayer that the call went through.

Out in the party, Brooke Davis had given up on consoling her brother, and was shamelessly flirting with upperclassmen when she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. At first, she ignored it until she remembered her and Peyton's code, and she whipped her phone out and pressed it to her ear without a word. She could hear muffled whimpering and soft cries of protest on the other end that scared the living daylights out of her. This was exactly why they'd come up with the code, but she never expected for either of them to actually have to use it for this purpose.

Phone still pressed to her ear, Brooke immediately blew off the boy she'd been chatting with and found her brother right where she had left him.

"Nathan!" she cried, tugging on his arm.

"Go away, Brooke."

"It's Peyton!"

"Screw her."

"She's in trouble!"

That's all Nathan needed to hear and his 'I don't care' facade vanished into thin air as he leapt to his feet. "What?! Where is she?!"

Brooke handed him the phone with tears already flowing down her rosy cheeks.

"Bedrooms, come on." Nathan kept the phone to his ear as they entered the hallway. "Wait. go find one of the guys. I don't care who- the first you can find. I'm gonna need help with this bastard." Nathan's eyes were filled with fire. He would not be stopped.

Brooke nodded and disappeared back into the party as Nathan continued down the hall, listening at each door to find which matched up with the sounds coming from the phone. Brooke grabbed the arm of the first Ravens player she could find, not even caring for one second that it was Lucas Scott. This was her best friend in danger and she could not waste time being choosy.

"Come on, I need your help!" she cried, pulling him away from his friends, who gave her death glares.

"Me?" he could see that she was in hysterics, but why would Brooke Davis ever need his help?

"You're the first guy I found! Come on! My friend-" She sobbed, choking on her words as she yanked him toward the hallway where Nathan was waiting at the door in question.

"Damn it" Nathan hissed under his breath before quickly getting over it. "Alright, let's go."

Nathan kicked down the door in one try and barged into the room, fury burning in his ocean blue eyes.

Brooke and Lucas stood frozen for a second as they took in the scene before them: They watched as Nathan tore Damien from Peyton's limp form and threw him on the floor like he was an insignificant ragdoll. They saw Peyton, lying limp on the bed with her jacket half off and her skirt hiked up around her waist. Her cheer bloomers were askew, but Brooke was relieved that they were still on.

Realizing the situation, Lucas jumped into action, and joined his half-brother in beating the shit out of this douchebag that tried to have his way with the gorgeous blonde cheerleader.

Brooke hurried to her best friend's side and straightened out her clothes as she pulled her into a sitting position. "Come on, P. Sawyer. It's okay, I got you," she cooed as she tried to help her up.

"Brooke?" Peyton slurred, her head lolling back and her body weak and limp.

"I'm here. Come on sweetie, let's get you out of here."

"I can't" Peyton whined weakly, clawing at Brooke's arm in panic.

"Lucas!" Brooke shouted to the first Scott brother. "Help me get her out!"

Lucas left Nathan and rushed back to the girls. In one swift movement, he gathered Peyton up in his arms and removed her from the room. He took her and lead Brooke into an empty bedroom, lying Peyton down on the bed. "Is she okay?" he panted, turning to the terrified brunette girl.

"I don't know!" she wailed, clinging to her best friend's hand. "I don't know what he gave her!"

"Peyton" Lucas said, remaining calm and taking her face gently in his hands. "Can you look at me? I'm Lucas. I need you to look at me."

Peyton's eyes fluttered half-open and her eyes were unfocused and dilated. "L-Lucas?"

"That's right. Look at me," he encouraged with a light smile. Her eyes locked on his, focused, for a short second before rolling back in her head and closing.

"Peyton!" Brooke screamed, tugging on her in desperation.

Lucas felt her pulse and sighed in relief. "She's just passed out. Here, stay with her." Lucas transferred Peyton into Brooke's arms and sprinted back to the other bedroom.

He threw caution to the wind and pushed Nathan off of the already battered Damien, and scooped the scumbag off the floor, holding him up by the collar of his shirt. "What did you give her?!" Lucas demanded through gritted teeth and giving him a violent shake. "What the fuck did you give her?!"

"S-sedative!" Damien stuttered through the blood welling in his mouth, clearly fearing for his life. Nathan immediately patted him down until he found the pill sheet in his pocket. He gave his brother one look, and Lucas threw Damien back down and turned out of the room with Nathan hot on his heels, drugs in hand.

"Flush them." Lucas ordered as they returned to the girls, and for once, Nathan didn't disagree with him, and disappeared into the bathroom for a second before racing back to his girls' side.

"We need to take her to the hospital!" Brooke sobbed.

"No I don't think it's that bad," Lucas began. "He just gave her a sedative."

"We need to get her home." Nathan sighed, scooping his girlfriend's limp form out of brooke's arms.

"What?!" Peyton whimpered, her eyes snapping open before closing again.

"We're taking you home, Peyt. You're okay." Nathan whispered into her hair. "You're okay."

"I'm dizzy," she cried through a mouth that hardly moved.

"I know, it's okay." Nathan carried her out the back door and to his car, laying her in the front seat and buckling her in. once in his seat, he didn't wait to make sure Brooke made it to her car before speeding off toward the Sawyer residence.

Brooke was heading to her car when she noticed Lucas, her half-brother following. "What are you doing?"

"Please, I have to make sure she's okay," Lucas pleaded. "I know you both hate me but I can't just forget about her."

"Look," Brooke sighed, running a hand over her tired face. "I really appreciate your concern and I'm sure Peyton does too, but you and Nathan in the same room, especially after the way he played tonight is not going to go well, okay? I don't want to stress her out, she's had a rough week and having two large boys fighting in her room- just no. I'm sorry."

Lucas sighed. "I just want to make sure she's okay."

Brooke thought for a moment. "Look, Give me your number and I'll text you when you can go by and see her in the morning." She handed him her phone and he typed it in as fast as he could, knowing she wanted to catch up with Nathan and Peyton.

"Thank you." He said as she got into her car.

"No, thank _you_ for helping save my best friend. Maybe you're not so bad after all." She shot him a warm smile as she put the car into gear and pulled away.

Lucas Scott was left with a tiny glimmer of hope that he would one day get to know his sister and brother, and maybe even that gorgeous girl Peyton Sawyer.

Nathan had been drinking, and he knew that driving may not have been the safest thing to do, but he had to get Peyton out of there. His eyes kept snapping to her as he sped down the quiet streets of small town Tree Hill, and he didn't like what he saw:

She kept drifting in and out of consciousness, her head lulling around as she fought to stay awake. A bruise was forming on her left cheek, undoubtedly from being slapped, and she kept mumbling that she was scared, as if she didn't realize that she'd been removed from the situation.

"Peyt," Nathan began cautiously. "tell me what he did to you."

"He-" she faded out for a moment before coming back. "He touched me." she groaned. "Kissed" was all she could muster to continue. Her strength was ebbing away like sand in an hourglass.

"Where?" Nathan's grip tightened on the wheel from his pure rage toward the man who thought he could do this to her- to any girl, for that matter.

"Ev-everyw…"

Nathan hated that he'd let it happen and he blamed himself for pushing her away. He took her hand in one of his, steering with the other, and kissed her knuckles. He wasn't focused on the road, but rather his blind rage, and barely swerved in time to avoid an oncoming truck, and from then on he tried to put off thinking about it, and focused on the road. He had to get her back home in one piece. She had to be okay. She just had to be.

Once he got her home, he parked clumsily and carried her up to the front step. He cursed when he found it locked. It was almost always unlocked, and he never realized she locked it when she wasn't there. "Peyt," he breathed gently, setting her down on the step leaning against a pillar. "Where's your house key? Can you hear me? Where's your house key?"

She had a spare somewhere, but her foggy mind could only think of the one in her cheer bag in Brooke's car, and that's the answer she slurred almost incoherently. Nathan sighed and sat beside her, hanging his head in his hands, and waiting for is sister to arrive with the key. As the minutes ticked by, Nathan's head rose from his hands and he took to studying his sleepy girlfriend. With no one keeping her awake, she had finally stopped fighting it and had succumbed to the drowsiness.

One thing Nathan loved about watching her sleep was the way she had two expressions: Sometimes, she looked permanently grumpy, like something was annoying her in her dreams or she was going to be pissed in the morning no matter what. Other times, like then, she looked so innocent and vulnerable, like she was nothing but a scared little girl trying her hardest to make it through life all alone. Both of the expressions described Peyton Sawyer to a T. One was the hard exterior she showed everyone, and the other was the broken, raw inside that only him and Brooke got to see. It was the side that held sadness from her mother's death, her father's unintentional neglect, and all of her insecurities and anxieties.

Brooke showed up almost ten minutes later and ran up to the pair on the steps, her worried gaze morphing into a frustrated glare at her idiot brother. "Why didn't you take her inside?!" she yelled at him as she checked on her best friend's consciousness, not happy finding her passed out on her front step.

"The key is in her bag!" Nathan defended.

"There's a spare in the back!" Brooke sighed exasperatedly as she returned to her car for Peyton's key. "For being her boyfriend of two years, you'd think you'd know that!"

"Right" Nathan sighed, scooping Peyton into his arms to take her inside.

Brooke unlocked the door and they hurried her up to her room where Nathan sat at the foot of the bed with her on his lap so that Brooke could pull back the covers. "Let's change her" Brooke sighed as she moved to untie her best friends shoes.

"Why?" Nathan asked. "Isn't that just violating her even more?"

Brooke frowned, thinking it through. "She'll be so uncomfortable in this, though. We've both seen her naked tons of times, I don't think she would care as long as it's just us."

"Okay." Nathan agreed, standing her up so that brooke could remove her skirt and bloomers and slide her into a pair of sweatpants that bore Nathan's jersey number, and he held her up so that Brooke could replace her top with an oversized band tee.

Out of respect, Nathan averted his eyes while clothes were off, but the gasps Brooke emitted when she saw the bruises and hickeys all over her best friend gave him a good enough picture of how rough that monster had been with her. Nathan wished he'd killed him back at that party. "God, we still have two games with Oak Lake! How is she supposed to see him, and how am I supposed to keep from killing him?!" Nathan nearly shouted as he maneuvered Peyton into a more convenient position so he could lay her down on the bed.

"Maybe we should report it?" Brooke asked timidly as she helped her brother put Peyton in bed.

"I don't know, Brooke. I don't know."

"We'll ask her in the morning if she wants to."

"The morning- shit Dan's going to kill me."

"Hate to break it to you, but he was going to kill you anyway, Nate."

"No I mean about me and Lucas double teaming and beating the shit out of that- that…" He couldn't find an acceptable word to accurately describe Damien West, and his hands shook with rage as he went to pull the covers over his girlfriend. "He doesn't want me talking to Lucas, let alone the fact that Lucas totally stole my thunder tonight. And then the fact that I nearly pulverized Damien? Man, I'm in for it."

"Just explain what happened with her and he might cut you some slack. He loves Peyton."

"Maybe you're right."

"There's nothing you can do right now. Come on, let's get some sleep. I'm sure tomorrow's gonna suck."

After changing into pajamas she kept at Peyton's, Brooke climbed into the bed on one side of her, offering the other side to Nathan, but he just shook his head and looked away. "I'm gonna stay up for a bit and keep watch over her, make sure she's okay. I'll lay down in a few."

Nathan turned the lights off for the girls and sat in Peyton's computer chair. He noticed how the moonlight filtered in through the blinds and fell across the two best friends. The way Brooke's arm draped protectively over Peyton's middle reminded him just how strong their bond was. They were like sisters to each other, and it made him endlessly happy that they had each other. His little sister and his girlfriend/best friend were both so beautiful to him: gifts straight from God, and no matter how much he fought with either girl, no matter how much they annoyed him, they were the lights of his life. He would do everything in his power to ensure that they were safe.

 _ **Woo, okay, big Dan fight coming up, I promise! Then we'll start to move into the pairings you've all been waiting for!**_

 _ **XOX**_

 _ **PSawyerLove**_


	8. Chapter 8: The Last Time

Chapter 8

Nathan was the last to fall asleep that night, and the first to wake in the morning. He was overly anxious to confront his father, and even more anxious to see how his girlfriend would react to the events of last night with a sober mind. He just watched Brooke and Peyton for a while as the early morning light filtered into the room. The girls looked peaceful when they slept, and he almost didn't want them to wake up so that they wouldn't have to face the hardships of life.

Brooke was next to wake up, and after checking to make sure that her best friend was still alive and her brother was still sane, she headed downstairs to make breakfast, leaving Nathan to continue observing the still sleeping Peyton.

After Brooke left the bed, Peyton began to toss and turn, her pretty face contorting in frustration. She was always a restless sleeper with all her talking, squirming, and kicking, but up until that moment she had been uncharacteristically quiet. Nathan attributed it to the sedative she had been given, and now that it had worn off, she was coming back to normal.

Brooke returned after a few minutes and handed him a plate of toaster waffles. "Hey, how you holding up?" She asked as she sunk down to the floor with her own plate to sit beside the chair Nathan occupied.

"I'm fine. I'm just worried, you know? I wonder if she remembers."

"Well there's only one way we'll find out." Brooke looked expectantly at her best friend, waiting for her to wake up.

As if on cue, she started to whine in her sleep as if she were crying in whatever dream she was having, and she rolled around, sprawled out, and kicked the covers off like she was fighting binds. She'd been known to strip in her sleep if she got too hot, and Nathan almost expected it until she awoke with a start and her sylvan green eyes fluttered opened and she flinched away from the light. "Oh," she whimpered as her hand reached the back of her head where she felt a bump and some dried blood.

"Hey honey, what's wrong?" Brooke said gently, abandoning her breakfast and hurrying to Peyton's side.

"My head hurts," she whimpered. "I hit it last night on the headboard." Tears started flowing as the memories surfaced, and Peyton immediately rolled over and hid her face in her pillow, clutching it for dear life as she tried to hold herself together. She didn't want to fall apart, she didn't want to be weak.

"Shh, it's okay." Brooke rubbed soothing circles into Peyton's back and shot a glare at Nathan for him to join them. He got up and awkwardly sat on Peyton's other side, unsure of how to be comforting.

"Um, what do you remember?" Nathan grumbled awkwardly, laying a hand on her shoulder.

Peyton rolled back over and sat up, pushing their hands off of her, wiping her eyes, and regaining control. "I remember everything until I passed out in the other room." She squinted, combing her memory for a missing detail. "Someone carried me into the other room– who was it? I know it wasn't either of you."

Brooke made a face and Nathan looked away. "Just think, P. Sawyer. It'll come to you" Brooke sighed, returning her hand to Peyton's shoulder and giving it a light squeeze.

"I remember the gist of what happened," Peyton sighed, casting her gaze downward. "I need a shower." Her skin was crawling with disgust as she remembered the unwanted kisses and touches that she'd wanted so desperately to fend off. She was so disappointed in herself for letting this happen and she just wanted to scream in frustration.

Peyton jumped to her feet and escaped into the bathroom, locking the door behind her before either of the others could react, leaving them in stunned silence.

The brother and sister exchanged worried glances before Brooke approached the bathroom door with caution. "Peyton? Honey, are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I just wanna get clean."

Brooke could hear the shakiness in her best friend's voice and her concern skyrocketed. "Please let me know if you need me or Nathan, okay?" she felt her phone buzz in her pocket and pulled it out to read the warning text she'd received from her father, "Uh, scratch that, if Nathan and I aren't home in 10, we're dead meat. Love you, P." Brooke absolutely hated the way she was leaving her best friend, but did she have a choice? Whatever punishment they, more Nathan, would receive would just get worse the longer they delayed.

As she beckoned Nathan toward the stairs, she expected him to give Peyton some encouraging words through the bathroom door, or even force it open to make sure she was okay, but he did neither, and followed Brooke in silence.

Brooke watched in disappointment and concern as she watched Nathan climb into his car almost robotically. She wasn't sure if he was worried about Peyton, angry about what had happened, or just scared for what awaited him at home. Brooke was pissed at him for not saying something to his girlfriend as they left, but she had a plan to make sure that Peyton was well taken care of.

Once in her own car, Brooke put it in gear as she dialed a number.

" _Hello?"_

"Yeah, this is Brooke- uh I need you to go check on Peyton in a little bit." it was hard for her to conceal the distaste in her voice: she knew Peyton didn't take too kindly to people she didn't know well, and this was honestly the last person that as of 12 hours ago she would've considered for this.

" _Oh! How is she?"_ Lucas Scott's voice, where yesterday would've been returned distaste, was warm and full of concern. Last night had changed them. All of them.

"She's okay but she's upset, I think. She remembers mostly bits and pieces." Brooke sighed as she turned off of Peyton's street and toward her own. "She just got in the shower, but Nathan and I had to leave, so she's all alone. Can you please go check on her?"

" _You left her alone?!"_

"Look, we had to, okay? You wouldn't understand. Just feel lucky Dan abandoned you- crap I'm sorry."

" _It's okay"_ Lucas responded dryly.

"Please will you go check on her? She might not like it if you show up because she doesn't know you well, but I just really need to know that she's okay."

" _Of course I'll go."_

"Thank you," relief flooded through her until she remembered something: "Oh yeah, look I don't mean to sound like a bitch, but I know you have a crush on her, and if you try anything, you're dead." And with that, she hung up, returning her focus to the daunting thought of what she would return home to.

Brooke arrived at the Scott household not two minutes after having hung up with Lucas. She was so worried about Peyton, but she pushed that to the back of her mind as she approached the front door of her house, already hearing yelling from within:

"I told you not to interact with him! Especially not after he just completely showed you up at the game!"

"Dad, we were helping my girlfriend! I told Brooke to get the first guy she could find and it happened to be him!"

"You're an utter failure, Nathan. You can't even protect her without _Lucas's_ help? You can even score higher than him."

 _Smack_

Ouch. Brooke knew it had already begun, and she cautiously entered the house and padded to the livingroom where the two Scott men were already getting into it. She watched helplessly as Dan pinned her older brother to the wall and delivered a hard right hook to the jaw. She saw a fiery rage blaze up in Nathan's eyes, and all of a sudden, Dan was the one being pushed back as Nathan roared:

"She's okay because of Lucas and me. Why can't _that_ matter!? We _saved someone_ and all you care about is my game!" Nathan shoved Dan, and he fell back, not from the shove, but by the surprise of being fought. Normally Nathan was nothing but a punching bag. The expression on Dan's face was complete shock for a split second before it turned back to rage.

"Nathan!" Brooke gasped, not scolding, but terrified as Dan rose back to his full height, looming above his son with unquestionable authority and anger.

Dan grabbed Nathan by his shirt collar and tugged him forward so that his face was inches from his. "Don't you dare." Was all Dan hissed before he slammed Nathan back into the wall repeatedly.

"Dad!" Brooke cried, running up to them and clinging to his arm, desperate to make it stop.

Caught up in the moment, Dan shoved back at her, and his elbow collided with her jaw and sent her flying backward, knocking her flat on her ass. For a moment, they all froze. Dan hardly ever laid a hand on his precious Brooke. Nathan took the chance to break away from Dan and rush to his sister.

"Brooke, Brooke are you okay?" He panicked. He tried so hard to keep her safe by taking the brunt of Dan's rage, and he failed at yet another thing.

Dan tore him away from Brooke and tossed him like a rag doll to the ground. "See what happens when you piss me off?!" Dan raged, stepping over Nathan. "You made me hurt her!"

"I didn't make you do anything." Nathan spat, glowering up at his father.

He was met with a sharp kick to the ribs in response.

Back at the Sawyer household, Peyton had just finished up her shower. She pulled on a fresh pair of baggy sweatpants that were covered in paint stains, and a large long sleeve shirt. She laid out in the center of her bed, watching her ceiling fan turn round and round. She'd scrubbed every inch of her body and she could still feel his hands all over her where she didn't want them. No matter how much she wanted to, the hand shaped bruises on her arms and the knee shaped bruises on her legs couldn't be wash off. The hickies weren't going away. She felt violated and disgusted, but she also felt incredibly blessed and thankful that her friends had come to the rescue. She couldn't imagine how bad off she'd be if they hadn't come. She felt sick just trying to think about it.

She switched her thoughts over to Lucas: the mysterious bastard Scott brother that was alienated from her group of friends simply because of who's kid he was. She'd always resented the way Nathan and Brooke thought of and treated him, thinking it unfair, and the way he'd jumped to help them last night, no questions asked, made her feel even more sympathy for him. Somehow she could just see the person inside Lucas Scott. She could tell with every fiber of her being that he was a good guy, and her heart broke for the way he was often cast aside and ganged up on just because her boyfriend, his brother didn't like him. He'd helped save her from absolute horror, and she decided right then and there that she wouldn't ever let Nathan and Brooke mistreat him or speak badly of him again.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard a knock on the door downstairs, and she immediately scolded herself for not having her music blasting like usual, toning out the world. If they were important enough, they would know to just come in.

She had no alibi without the music playing, so she hesitantly got up and went to her window to check who it was. She peered down through her window blinds to the street in front of her house. A red tow truck sat outside, emblazoned with the "Keith Scott Body Shop service and repair" logo pasted on the knew the truck: what was Lucas doing here? Peyton took a nervous, unsteady breath and headed down the steps as another, slightly more impatient knock sounded from below. "Coming!" she choked as she found her voice.

With shaking hands she unlocked the door and opened it only a few inches so that she could peer out at this unwelcome and unexpected guest. She wasn't scared of Lucas and in no way did she hate him after last night, but she just didn't know him well enough to invite him in before knowing his motives.

"Uh, what are you doing here?" she didn't mean it to come out as angry and unwelcoming but her emotional state betrayed her. She watched him closely, drawn to him in an inexplicable way. She was curious of him, she wanted to know just who Lucas Scott was other than Nathan and Brooke's bastard brother.

"Hi, um, I just wanted to see how you were doing." Lucas shifted uncomfortably under her intense stare and cast his gaze to the ground. Standing in the presence of one of the most popular and beautiful girls in school, not to mention his longtime crush made him nervous, to say the least. "I was a little worried about you" he explained honestly.

"I'm fine, thanks." she responded shortly as she watched him, distracted by the way her heart fluttered when he said he was worried about her. It was nice to have someone care enough to check on her, and she felt touched that he cared enough about her wellbeing to actually come see her. Her reaction scared her though; she didn't know this guy, she wasn't supposed to care that much about how much he cared about her, and she didn't know how to feel about him just showing up on her doorstep.

"Are you sure?" Lucas cut into her thoughts and his gaze suddenly snapped up to hers, filled with an intensity Peyton had never seen before. Something about the way he looked into her eyes made her feel like he could see right into her soul, and she found herself cracking.

"I um-" She was at a loss for words and she could feel a lump forming in her throat. What was happening to her? There was no way she'd let herself cry in front of this almost-stranger. "I'm fine, promise." she forced a smile onto her lips, but she knew he could tell she was lying.

"Okay," he began cautiously, his blue eyes smouldering, "Well then, I guess I'll be seeing ya." he shrugged and started to turn away.

"Wait!"

He turned back to her in surprise.

"Thank you, Lucas. For last night, for coming to check on me- just, thank you." She was flustered by the quickened pace of her heart rate and the flurry of unfamiliar emotions she was feeling. She felt so utterly lost and confused.

The smile that lit Lucas's unbelievably handsome face seemed to calm her nerves and she instantly felt better. "Of course, Peyton. Anytime."

A genuine smile creeped onto her face as she looked into his eyes. He made her feel warm and comforted. "Alright. I'll be seeing ya." She watched him walk to his car before shutting the door and leaning back against it as she slid to the floor, a giant, goofy smile making her face almost hurt as her heart beat fast like hummingbird wings. He cared! Lucas Scott cared! She wasn't sure where this total crush came from, but what she did know was that it made her feel better than she had in ages. But she also knew it was wrong, and her smile soon disappeared at this realization. Her heart now beat fast for a whole other reason: panic.

Lucas Scott had the biggest smile on his face as he strode in through the back of the cafe. He had the biggest crush on Peyton Sawyer for as long as he could remember, and he had finally been able to talk to her one-on-one. Granted, not much had transpired between the two of them, but he'd take any conversation with her over nothing. He'd come to one conclusion from talking to her: Peyton Sawyer was an angel, and she was his angel.

He was relieved that she seemed to be okay, plus he felt like having talked to both Brooke and Peyton today had given him one more step up in being included in the basketball/cheerleading world, and one step closer to Peyton. He was riding a high that he knew Haley would make fun of him for, but he couldn't wait to tell her about last night and seeing Peyton again. He found his best friend Haley and his mother Karen speaking quickly with hushed voices just inside the entrance to the kitchen. His high quickly turned into worry from the looks on their faces.

"Hey, what's going on?" Lucas approached them with caution, feeling the tension in the air.

"Lucas, you were with Nathan and Brooke for a while last night, right?" Karen turned to her son, caution laced in her voice.

"Just for a few minutes. I had to help them with something."

"Well, um, they're here at the cafe…"

"What is it, Ma? Is something wrong? I just came from Peyton's house, she was fine-"

"Its nothing wrong with her, though you are telling me about that later." Karen placed a hand on her son's shoulder to calm him and looked him in the eyes, piercing him with an intensity that said 'this is serious.' "It's Nathan and Brooke. They came in all beat up and they won't tell me what happened. I was wondering if you knew or if you could talk to them? If i need to call the cops or… CPS-"

"CPS? You think Dan did this?" Lucas looked stunned. "Brooke told me they had to get home. She told me I was lucky…"

"So you think Dan did this too?" Haley finally added. "It's pretty obvious."

"I- I don't know." Lucas backed away a few steps. "Are they okay? I just spoke to Brooke an hour ago."

"Go see for yourself, and see if you can get any info out of them." Karen pushed lucas to the kitchen door and all but shoved him into the cafe.

Lucas scanned the area for the siblings and found them huddled in a booth nursing cups of hot chocolate. Approaching them, Luke saw what his mother meant.

 _ **Sorry this took so long, but there's a little bit of Leyton! More Leyton and some new Naley coming up soon!**_

 _ **I just started college and I've just been writing here and there whenever I can. I got my roommate to watch OTH so I've also been rewatching with her!**_

 _ **I hope y'all enjoy this chapter. Please let me know what you think! I appreciate what you have to say.**_

 _ **XOXO**_

 _ **PSawyerLove**_


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